SEPTEMBER x783
Within the expanse of a large forest, a tall blond man walked through the sun lit trail at a leisurely pace, mumbling to himself all the while. He had on a lightweight traveler cloak with the hood hanging loosely over his back; his hair danced with the wind as a cool breeze swept by.
It was a beautiful and sunny morning, with not a cloud in sight - a remnant of the warmer months as the seasons inevitably changed throughout the year. Still, a day like today ought to be enjoyed and enjoy it he would, though a steaming bowl of ramen would make this day perfect.
The blond continued his trek with a light spring in his step and a smile on his face, reveling in his comfortability with nature. Although, there was something mysterious about the air he breathed in, which permeated throughout the world, as far as he could tell. It allowed him to connect with nature in a way that was somewhat different from his homeland.
Well, he had a couple of ideas but wasn't too sure yet.
Suddenly, a rustling sound from the nearby bushes caught his attention. He paused mid-step, his eyes narrowing as he turned to investigate. It was in moments like these with his senses heightened, that he realized again how different this world was from his own.
His hand instinctively reached for the kunai tucked into his cloak, his body tensing for a potential fight. The chirping of birds and rustling of leaves suddenly seemed deafening in contrast to his calm heartbeat.
Without warning, a figure leaped from the bushes, snarling and bearing sharp claws. The blond reacted swiftly, drawing his kunai in a fluid motion and adopted a defensive stance. The creature lunged at him, but he sidestepped, causing it to stumble past him. He seized the opportunity to strike, lodging his kunai into the creature's side.
The creature let out a gut-wrenching yelp and retreated back into the bushes, leaving a trail of blood. The blond man stood, watching the retreating form of the bipedal lizard monster, waiting for something, anything else to happen and muttered when nothing did, "well, that was anti-climactic."
With a sigh, he scanned his surroundings warily. Unable to sense any other life forms nearby, he could only assume the monster had acted independently.
Monsters.
That was something new. He had been shocked nearly to death on his first encounter with one. What the hell kind of a place was this?
Still, why did a monster attack him here?
According to the limited knowledge he'd picked up on while traveling, commercial pathways such as the one he was currently on, statistically, had the lowest amount of monster attacks. These pathways were a vital part of the Fiore kingdom as it was used heavily for the transportation of goods. It was usually well guarded by the Royal Army, with the occasional job postings to guilds to ensure there would be no overpopulation.
Most monsters tended to travel in packs and dwelled deep within the forests, rarely heading to such public areas after the years of fighting between the different species. And that was good enough for the people.
So why did some random monster suddenly attack him?
With a sneaking suspicion, he decided to follow the trail of blood left by the wounded creature.
How?
How could this have happened?
She'd been traveling through the forest with a group of mages she'd met a couple weeks prior. They were chatting amicably amongst one another and were thus blindsided when a group of crocodile lizardmen jumped out of the bushes, rushing towards them snarling all the while, with their sharpened claws glistened, shining from the sun's light. Fortunately for her, they had been able to deal with the surprise attack, although they did not come out of the battle unscathed. However, the problem was what came after the monsters.
Mages.
And dark mages at that. They had ambushed them with precision and quickness that rivaled the storied tales of the soldiers within the Rune Knights army, led by the Magic Council that governed the magical world of Fiore in its entirety. They had been celebrating their victory against the sudden ambush by the lizard people only to be ambushed again, as nearly fifty dark mages surrounded them, all poised to unleash their magic. They had tried to fight back, mustering all the magic they could but it was no use. They had already accumulated too much fatigue from the previous battle and with them being vastly outnumbered, they were unable to avoid being captured.
Now here she was, all alone and shackled to the wall, imprisoned within this wooden cell. Tears began to pool at the edge of her eyes as the sound of her thundering heartbeat drowned out the world around her; fear of the unknown and regret of the past swelled from deep within her chest.
Why did she run away from home?
Were her companions safe?
Where were her keys?
Who were these people?
What were they planning on doing to them?
To her?
Countless unanswered questions surfaced and as she began to despair at the lack of answers, the door slowly creaked open. The bright sun illuminated the darkened room, blinding her momentarily. She winced and looked down, closing her eyes at the sudden brightness but was compelled to reopen them as the sound of heavy footsteps got progressively louder until a pair of boots entered her blurry vision.
She looked up at her captor but couldn't make out the details of his face due to the sun's position. However, his unsettling smile and the way his eyes roamed over her sent an icy chill down her spine.
"Mmm, well, well…what have we here?" He spoke in a voice that sounded like nails on a chalkboard to her. He crouched down to meet her gaze. "What a pretty young thing!"
She squealed in pain as the man roughly grabbed her face before shoving his own within a inch of hers. The foul stench of his breath reached her nostrils causing her to wrinkle her nose in disgust, trying her best to avoid the smell.
"You're just my type, blondie." The man pulled back and cackled, giving her the separation she desperately wished for. The man then sighed and shrugged, "too bad I can't keep ya."
The fear in her heart grew exponentially with each word he uttered, causing her to tremble. "W-what are you going to do to us?" She managed to eke out with as much strength as she could muster.
The man let out a raucous laugh as he watched her whimper, his hand clenched around her chin. "You'll find out soon enough, darling," he sneered, his smile widening to reveal his rotting teeth. Fear swelled within her, choking off her words as he turned and left the room, locking the door behind him.
Left alone once more, she could only retreat within herself, her mind racing as she struggled to think of a way to escape. But with each passing second, her hope dwindled, replaced by a growing sense of dread. She could only hope that her companions were faring better than her.
The blond man followed the blood deep into the forest until he came across a pair of dark mages patrolling the area. His eyes narrowed as he hid within the trees, easily avoiding the duo with practiced ease.
In the shadows, he carefully observed them, his senses on high alert. They walked side by side with disinterested eyes as they chatted to each other.
"Ugh man, I hate patrolling. It's so fucking boring! Nothing ever even happens." A man with brown hair and average build complained.
"Oh my god, will you shut up?" His partner with black hair responded, "just do your job and quit bitching. We're almost done anyways."
Their conversation continued, laden with profanities hurled at each other, oblivious to the blond stalking them.
Their presence confirmed his suspicions - there was something fishy going on here. He knew he would need to tread carefully to figure out what they were doing here.
Without a moment's hesitation, he made a plan. With his years of experience and honed instincts, he covertly approached the dark mages, his mind focused on gathering information about their motives and plans.
Silently, he moved through the forest using the thick tree branches, following the guards as they patrolled the section, his every step calculated to avoid making any noise. He kept a close eye on his targets, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
It didn't take long as the guard with black hair turned a few seconds before his partner, giving the blond the perfect opportunity to strike. In one swift movement, he quietly neutralized the lagging guard and quickly made his way to the other, grabbing him in a chokehold with a viselike grip, and squeezing until he felt the body falling limply in his arm.
He dropped the now unconscious guard to the ground with a soft thud and raised his left hand, crossing the middle and index fingers. A plume of smoke appeared to his right before dissipating, revealing a copy of the blond.
"Yo boss, what's up?" The duplicate asked with a grin as he walked towards the crumpled bodies, taking out a bunch of wires from within his cloak all the while.
He tied up the patrol guards and tossed them to the side so that they were out of sight, then he turned to face his creator.
The original, for his part, did not even bat an eyelash at his clone's callous treatment of the mages. They were just copies of him after all and he didn't particular care about the dark mages' well beings, so long as they didn't die under his watch.
"Well, nothing much. Just trying to find out why there're random mages running 'round here." The original answered easily. He had long gotten used to some of his clone's more eccentric behaviors after abusing the technique so many times over the years. "Anyways, I'm going to get a scope of this place and see what's what. Try to find out what you can from those guys in the meanwhile."
The clone gave a mock salute with a cheeky smirk before disappearing just as quickly as he arrived.
With the patrol guards taken care of, the original blond ventured further into the forest in search of more dark mages. One thing he'd learned over the months was that any time he encountered one dark mage, there'd bound to be more waiting nearby. They still operated similarly to legal guilds, although the scope of their activities were all highly illegal in the eyes of the law.
He headed east first and after a couple of minutes, he encountered another patrol group. He knocked them unconscious with practiced ease and created another clone who began tying up the guards as soon as it appeared. This happened a few more times until the blond had managed to establish a perimeter circling the clearing the dark mages had made a home in.
The blond stood, hidden within the shadows of the forest, observing the camp carefully, gleaming additional information from the interactions of the group.
They were loud and boisterous, as if they were celebrating. It was a wonder they hadn't been discovered yet, which meant had probably only recently settled here. He narrowed his bright blue eyes sharply, that was good - that meant this dark guild hadn't had a chance to terrorize the nearby town where he'd currently resided. It would have been a real pain to deal with by then.
There were several small groups littered around the clearing, talking and drinking jovially with one another, oblivious to the spying. The blond noticed a few newly built cabins as well before overhearing a conversation from a nearby group.
"Man, I'm really glad we joined up with the Balam Alliance." A man with greying hair slurred as he took another sip from a nearly depleted liquor bottle. He let out a giggle that made the eavesdropping blond cringe in disgust, "we got all these lovely benefits and jobs coming our away, and we even managed to snag some real beauties."
The group surrounding the grey haired man let out derisive laughs as they conversed before one man let a complaint nearly souring the mood, "too bad about the lizardmen, now we have to look for more."
"S'okay…okay," the grey haired man consoled the group with a dismissive wave of his hand, his face showing clearly the effects of excessive liquor consumption. "There's a bunch of 'em running 'round here and there - piece a cake. Now! The group we caught cus of 'em? We're gonna have some fun tonight boys!" He jeered and whistled in mock appreciation then let out a raucous laugh that easily brought the groups morale's back up.
But by then the blond spy had already disappeared, infiltrating the camp with none the wiser and searched through the newly built cabins.
Some time had passed but she had no way of telling, imprisoned here as she was. She sat there, in the middle of the room almost lifelessly, whatever energy she had was sapped out of her after dealing with that creepy guy. Still, she was alone now and that brought just a sliver of relief. Her shoulder length blonde hair with a small ponytail tied to the right, swayed from side to side as her bloodshot eyes properly took in the surroundings for the first time.
She'd noticed that it wasn't as dark as she thought it had been and there were a couple of draped windows located within the room she was in. Both were situated on the wall in front of her, with the door sandwiched in between. The door that led to her freedom - it was so close and yet she couldn't even walk the short distance in between, to grab that freedom for herself. It just stood there, almost as if it was taunting her.
She cursed herself and the current situation she was in. She shook her head in an attempt to drive away the encroaching morbid thoughts.
Now wasn't the time for that, she needed to find a way to escape and help her companions. She nibbled on her lip, she knew that…but she was still powerless without her keys and who knew what those bastards did with them.
She continued to scan her surroundings, searching for something - anything, that could help her get out of here safely. However, she found herself disappointed as the room she was confined in was incredibly spartan. There was a couple of chairs spread around but that was it. There wasn't even a table!
Laughter erupted from somewhere outside, breaking the blonde's concentration. She groaned in frustration and wondered just what the hell she was supposed to do.
Despite the circumstances, memories of a happier childhood surfaced and she and remembered fondly on the times she'd read those fairy tale stories with her mother. The ones where the hero saved the princess and defeated the demon king! And then the hero and princess lived together happily ever after. But as she grew, learned, and aspired to write, she undoubtedly recognized the clichéd nature of those heroic fairy tales…but she loved it nevertheless. She'd always imagined herself as the princess with a handsome prince coming to save her from evil.
But this was real life.
And there was no hero coming to save her.
There was nobody but herself now, she just needed to find a way out. She tried to cheer herself on but quickly deflated.
Even if she had been able to escape her imprisonment, she'd still have to find her companions and she definitely couldn't do that without alerting the dozens of dark mages just hanging around outside. A ragged breath escaped her lips as the darker thoughts began to resurface and with it, a chaos that quickly began to spiral out of control.
She tried to grab her head, in an attempt to stop the oncoming headache but her hands wouldn't budge due to the chains, infuriating the blonde. Tears threatened to spill as feelings of helplessness bubbled.
"Yo!" A whisper from the left snapped her from her thoughts and brown eyes darted to the source to find a blond man crouched in front of her. He had the clearest blue eyes she'd ever seen and found herself nearly entranced by it. He had a goofy smile that wrinkled the three whisker-like markings on each side of his face. A black headband was tied around his forehead with a metal plate engraved with a strange leaf symbol, kept his unruly hair at bay. He held a finger to his lips quieting her before she could let out a reaction and whispered again, finishing lamely, "sorry if I scared ya. You're the last prisoner I could find, so I think you're the last…uh, anyways, let's get those cuffs off, huh?"
He stood to his full height and casted quite an imposing figure but to the blonde who had been imprisoned here for who knows how long, he looked like…like…"a-a hero?" She stammered out in disbelief. She blinked as she processed what just happened before she felt blood rushing to her face.
She let out a sigh of relief when it seemed like he hadn't heard her little comment. She watched in wonder as he deftly cut the chains shackling her with some kind of knife. An outstretched hand full of callouses reached out to the stupefied blonde. It took a moment before she realized the intent. Quickly taking hold of his rough hand, and with a strong grip she felt him pull her up with ease. She nearly buckled, having been sitting on the floor for awhile but a strong arm reached out and supported her firmly.
"Thank you," she flashed him a grateful smile and was returned with a friendly one. "Really, thank you for saving us. Based on what you said, it sounds like you rescued my companions…can I ask who you are? My name is Lucy, how did you find us?"
She had been sure that there'd be no chance of someone rescuing her as they had been ambushed deep in the forest. She sighed in relief at the thought of her traveling companions being safely rescued.
"Name's Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto," he grinned. "And well, I came across this suspicious looking monster and followed it until I found all of you."
Huh?
That was all?
Lucy replayed his words slowly but still found it was missing some very important context. Though, he seemed like a good person and he was even willing to help her, some random stranger tied up in the middle of some forest. In the end, she'd decided that it didn't really matter all that much.
Suddenly, a voice from outside shouted, startling her. "T-the mages we captured, they're gone!"
Pandemonium erupted as the duo heard a flurry of activity. "Shoot, we gotta go!" Naruto said, grabbing Lucy by the hand.
"W-wait!" Lucy responded as Naruto dragged her towards the door, "I need to find my keys!"
He stopped abruptly and turned to face her with a quizzical look, "Your keys? Can't you just make another copy?"
"No, they're not ordinary keys. They're Celestial Spirit Keys. They can't just be remade and more importantly, they're my friends - I can't just leave them behind!"
Lucy returned Naruto's fearsome gaze tentatively as she swallowed her saliva, her mouth suddenly felt incredibly dry. Had she overstepped? She knew she had no right to ask him for anything at this point but selfishly, she couldn't just leave her keys - her friends behind. She had resolved to rescue them once he'd freed her, even if he decided not to help, understandably so.
Just as she was about to give up on receiving his help, Naruto let out a low chuckle, seemingly lost in thought.
"I like that! Okay, I'll help!" Naruto said with a large toothy grin, relieving a heavy burden from her heart.
"Thank you," Lucy said with a sincere smile.
"Don't worry about it, ya know. My mentor once told me that those who abandon their mission are trash but those who would abandon their friends are even worse than trash. They're words that hold special meaning to me." He said before a puff of smoke blurred her vision. As quickly as it came, the smoke dissipated, revealing a carbon copy of Naruto.
"This here is my clone," Naruto patted the clone on the back, "he's pretty reliable, so don't worry. He'll protect you while you search for your keys."
Lucy nodded, absorbing all the new information and filed it away for later, though she was curious about what he would do next.
"Wait a bit before you head out so they'll be less likely to notice you." Naruto said after seeing her questioning gaze. He took off his traveler cloak and handed it to Lucy for safekeeping, revealing a well built physique. He had on a navy mock-neck long sleeved shirt, with the sleeves rolled up halfway, revealing his heavily bandaged right arm, with a matching pair of form fitting pants, tucked into a pair of sandal boots that reached his shins. He had on a lightweight green vest with pockets scattered everywhere and strapped to his leg was a pouch of some sort.
"I'm gonna go kick some punk asses."
She shuddered at the sudden menacing tone but decided not to speak on it and instead simply wished him good luck as he, shockingly, disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Lucy held the cloak tightly, an earthy and woody scent filled her nose, a far cry from the nasty breath she'd accidentally smelt earlier.
Not a second had passed before the deafening roar of explosions, followed by the pained screams of the dark mages reached her ears. Lucy peeked through one of the windows and was stunned at the sight.
Nearly half of the dark mages were already on the ground, unconscious. She gaped with wide eyes at the speed and viciousness her captors were defeated, disbelief written clearly all over her face. She watched as Naruto blitzed through the field, whittling down the impressive number of dark mages, until there was only few left. Even they couldn't hide the shocked look on their faces.
"We should get going," the clone spoke, startling Lucy. It seemed it would take a while to get used to talking to a clone.
Tearing her eyes away from the destructive scene, she followed the other blond as they walked out of what was supposed to be her prison but was actually a regular log cabin that had been haphazardly changed into a makeshift holding cell.
Her mind was blank, still trying to process everything as they walked out nonchalantly into the field where a one sided beatdown had taken place.
She almost felt bad.
The clone guided her safely as they searched through the cabins and finally, in the last one, Lucy located her keys as well as her whip. She snatched the pouch containing them with vigor and secured it tightly against her belt.
With a resurgence in confidence and energy, the Celestial Spirit Mage looked towards the copy, wondering what their next move would be. She wanted to run out there and help the original Naruto in battle but with the destruction he'd doled out in the short time he'd left the tiny cabin, she was inclined to believe that he didn't need any help, least of all from her.
By now the cacophony of screams and the sounds of battle had died down.
"Alright, let's get you outta here. Your friends are waiting nearby with some more of my clones. We can wait there with them until the Rune Knights arrive and figure things out from there." The original Naruto said as he poked his head into the cabin, its door had been blown off its hinges from the shockwaves of a nearby explosion.
The clone disappeared as Lucy walked alongside Naruto with a look of awe. The sight of all the dark mages neatly tied in groups was surely a sight to behold. "You're really strong aren't you, Naruto-san?" She asked but she didn't really need to hear the answer.
Naruto chuckled, "nah I was just going easy on them, ya know. And you can just call me Naruto."
'Doesn't that mean you are stronger than them?!' Lucy could only blink in confusion at the logic.
But her eyes softened as she watched him walk ahead of her, grateful for this fateful encounter. She wasn't sure if it was destiny but whatever it was, she was glad that she'd been given a lifeline just before she was dropped into the abyss.
It was a wake up call. One that she desperately needed, it seemed.
She'd been traveling for the last few months with rose-tinted goggles, expecting a flourishing career as a budding mage. She would take on jobs with the companions she'd make from the guild, earning thousands of jewels that would allow her to live the lavish lifestyle she dreamed of!
Or so she thought.
This encounter had slapped her back into reality - the world wasn't as rosy and easy as she had imagined.
She needed to get stronger, she resolved.
At a nearby clearing, a group of mages had settled next to a lake. They had refreshed looks as they breathed in the air, grateful for their freedom, despite their short captivity.
And it was all thanks to the man who could clone himself.
They had been held captive within the confines of the makeshift prisons with the intent of being sold off to the black market. Mages held quite the appeal, after all. Though, being able to tame one was a different story.
As the group joyfully celebrated, the clones of the blond man disappeared in several plumes of smoke, shocking the rescued mages.
"You guys!" A familiar voice cut through the thick smoke and the group of mages reacted tearfully as they caught sight of the figure they'd been worried most about.
At the time of their capture, they had still been kept together. It wasn't until they had been brought back to the dark mage's camp when the leader of the group singled out the young blond, taking her to a different cabin from theirs. They tried fighting back but could only watch powerlessly as the youngest and newest companion was snatched from them, having been chained up with magic resistance cuffs.
They had been ready to storm the camp as soon as they had been freed by Naruto but he had urged them to escape instead, promising to return with the blonde. Reluctantly, the group entrusted the well-being of Lucy to him and followed the clones that seemingly appeared from the shadows.
"I was so worried about you all!" Lucy ran to her companions before she was jumped by the group and engulfed in a tight hug.
"We should be saying that to you!" A woman in her early twenties said.
"They didn't do anything to you did they? Those bastards!" A man, this time shouted.
And just like that, it quickly descended into chaos as they hurriedly spoke over one another, just grateful to be in each other's presence once more. Lucy laughed joyously as she was surrounded by her new friends.
Naruto watched the scene from a distance with a smile on his face, glad that he'd intervened.
'Oh-hoh. Looks like it's gotten a bit lively, brat.' A deep, guttural voice spoke within his mind.
'Oh, Kurama. You were awake?' Naruto responded in his head, which was normally just him thinking.
'How could I not be after all that ruckus?'
Naruto chuckled and quickly recapped the events from the previous couple of hours, catching his partner up to speed.
'Still with the hero complex, huh,' Kurama said in amusement.
Naruto grumbled in response, "well, I couldn't just leave them, ya know. And I don't have a hero complex!"
The duo continued their light hearted interaction briefly before they sensed a large presence rapidly approaching.
The Rune Knights had finally arrived.
Noticing their arrival, Lucy separated herself from the group as they watched the famed Rune Knights of Fiore stop in front of Naruto.
"Naruto," a tall middle-aged man with a broad stature spoke gruffly as he nodded his head to acknowledge the blond mage. He had on a white cape, signifying his position within the ranks, that covered his shoulders. It was held together by an intricately designed clasp and underneath the cape, he had on lightweight metal armor with a sword attached to his hip.
He was Remus, a decorated Captain of the 2nd Enforcement Unit, with over a decade in experience working under the Magic Council.
"Yo, anus! Been a while." Naruto responded cheerfully, causing the captain to growl in annoyance.
"Grow up already you damn brat! Learn some respect!" Remus snapped. He'd known the blond for several months now, having worked alongside him on a few special cases. At first, he had thought of him as nothing more than a buffoon. But after working with him, he'd realized it was all just an act…an act to annoy him! Even though he knew it was an act, there seemed to be a special ability possessed by the blond - one that allowed him to annoy damn near anyone.
He even gave lip to the esteemed Council Members!
Still, his strength was definitely something he couldn't look down on.
He was way too damn strong.
"Ah, sorry, sorry," Naruto cackled without a hint of remorse.
The Rune Knights stood awkwardly behind their captain and collectively sighed at the predictable scenario in front of them. Each time their captain encountered Naruto, he would always end up leaving red faced, shaking in anger due to some prank or another.
Their poor captain was seriously too uptight sometimes which led to easy pickings for one Naruto Uzumaki.
Lucy, who had kept a keen eye on Naruto's interaction with the knights, ambled over and poked the side of the cackling blond, causing him to stop and look at her weirdly, giving the captain a much needed reprieve.
"Rune Knights?" She mumbled more to herself than anyone else but Naruto heard it all the same.
"Yea, I called them so they could come pick up the trash. This is An-," a heated glare stopped him from completing his thoughts, "I mean, Remus. He's the captain leading this platoon. They're gonna ask you guys a few questions about what happened, no biggie."
The aforementioned captain brought up his hand for a handshake as he stepped towards the pair of blondes. Lucy grasped his hand and noted how strong his grip was.
"You must be one of the victims of this unfortunate event," he spoke solemnly, letting go of the blonde's smaller hand. "I deeply apologize for our failure to prevent this catastrophe from happening."
The man bowed, and Lucy waved awkwardly, "a-ah, no, it wasn't your fault…Besides, Naruto here saved me." She tried to console.
Remus stood with a smile before responding, "thank you. Well, if you are all well enough, please allow us to hold a brief interview with everyone so that we may find out what has transpired here."
"Uh, yeah, sure." Lucy said, not entirely acclimated to his way of speaking.
New orders were promptly issued to the Rune Knights and they dispersed into smaller groups of three to four, heading towards the recently freed mages while several other groups peeled off, having been issued separate orders.
"Now then, please follow me, Naruto, Lucy-san." Remus said as he led them towards a recently assembled tent.
End chapter one.
My first story attempt in which I try to explore and expand the world of Fairy Tail using Naruto.
Please let me know if this reads coherently. When I was proof-reading, it read fine to me but that's because it's all in my head already and I'm not sure how well I translated it into words.